The Pacific Games are held every four years. This multi-sporting event is held every four years and features nations from the Pacific region. Hosted by the Pacific Games Council, it has been held since 1963.
Tennis has been a regular feature of the games since 1963. The first three editions featured only team events and mixed doubles events in tennis. Results from the 1963 edition to the 1983 editions have been obscure. Only the winners are known. New Caledonia dominated the competition during this phase, winning the events (singles, doubles, and team events) 16 times. Tahiti was the next best nation, winning nine times.
Results from 1987 to 1995 are not known. Definite results are available from the 1999 edition, starting from which the men’s and women’s singles, doubles, and team events, and the mixed doubles events have been held consistently.
All matches are played in the best of three sets format. A set win is confirmed when a player or team wins six games with a difference of two. If a set reaches the score of 6-6 then a tiebreak ensues. The winner of the tiebreak is the one who is first to seven points with a difference of two. In doubles, a third set is played as a set tiebreak wherein the team who is first to ten points with a difference of two wins the match.
In the men’s and women’s team event, participating nations are divided into groups. Each group’s nation plays the other in a round-robin format. The table-toppers of each group progress to the knockout rounds.
Between 1999 to 2023, New Caledonia have won 18 times, particularly dominating the men’s events Samoa and Papa New Guinea are the next best sides, securing the gold on nine and eight occasions respectively. In its latest edition held in 2019, the North Mariana Islands and Papa New Guinea won three events each, whereas Tonga won one.
